We thought that we would share what is going on at Zero Point Software at the moment, and give you some insight in what has happened since the launch of Running Man.

Running Man has been launched

Running Man was launched the 2nd of July with a newsletter, a press release, and an exclusive releasetrailer on gametrailers.com. We were very excited about the launch, and hoped that we could make a breakthrough even though it was launched in the summer holiday season.

Since the alpha release of Running Man we have gained more than 9.000 registered users and a little less than 100 Spearheads and Frontliners. Our goal for Running Man is to get 35.000 registered users, so we are not quite there yet! It seems that even though Running Man is a great game, we cannot compete with the beach, the sun and the summer parties.

So in order to attract more users, we will relaunch Running Man in short time. There are still a couple of million gamers out there who haven’t played it.

A view of how many registered users we have gained since the launch of Running Man alpha.

Numbers

Speaking of “numbers” - some of you might have wondered how many registered users, Spearheads and Frontliners we have. In this writing moment we have 46.907 registered users, where 789 are Spearheads and 76 are Frontliners. The total sum of Support Medals is 1199 and on a sidenote: more than 800.000 Bullseye challenges has been completed!!!

We’ll make sure you get a regular update on these numbers.

What now?

We are currently in a fundrasing phase and are seeking new investors to get enough finance to develop and launch the multiplayer. This also means that most of the development team is on a break, while we talk to investors and make preparations for developing the multiplayer. In our current phase we are 3 guys at the office: Mikael (heks, Lead Programmer), Kenneth (Kenneth, Lead Sound Designer) and Kim (ZPSHicks, Game Director).We have some very promising investor leads, and if everything goes as planned, we will have the full team back, working on the multiplayer, within a few months.

Our current focus is, besides fundraising, to improve our communication and navigation on the website, so it’s easier for a new visitor to understand our strategy, and what Interstellar Marines is about.

Here is a glimpse of our first and most crude multiplayer prototype in Unity

Open profile and earlier alpha access

We wish to have a more open profile with regards to development, so we will soon introduce developer blogs where you can follow our ramblings on game development, sci-fi, business, etc.Spearheads and Frontliners will also have access to very early versions of the multiplayer, as well as other prototypes. So far our earliest release has been Running Man alpha, but from now on Spearheads and Frontliners can expect to be “let in” a lot sooner.

We discovered that with the alpha release of Running Man, almost all feedback we got from the community was on par with our own to-do lists. For us to see that we were in sync with our community was very satisfying, and as a sign that we were heading in the right direction.But we want even more out of our community - to give you even earlier access to future development, will make your opinion and feedback even more valuable to us, and you will get a greater chance to influence which way the development goes. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we will put laser weapons in the game if you suggest it. We have a very clear idea and design behind all we are doing, but we still listen to what you say and continuously hold your feedback up against our own ideas to see if we can make our games even better!

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME,The team at Zero Point Software

Comments

Finally we got to see some numbers! 9000/35.000? I hope the relaunch will fix those numbers. With +800.000 Bullseye challenges completed, I wonder how many of them are mine. I haven't received my achievement for completing 1000 challenges yet, but I know I'm not far away!

Hey guys, could it be possible to have gamepad support for the multiplayer when you release it? If anyone wants to know why, I have a learning disability called 'Dyspraxia'. Put simply, the ligaments in my hands aren't as strong as normal and it also affects my hand-eye co-ordination, so playing on a mouse and keyboard just dosen't work out for me (and I've tried before on Running man).

I'm liking the sounds of giving the spear heads earlier access and the more constant updates. Guess you guys have run skint for now though which will affect progress. Perhaps you could update us with a new investors brief that has more realistic targets for the chapter release dates? Regardless just bought a few more support medals to help the cause.

New spearhead here. I've been thinking about loading up on support medals to support this new development model and will most likely do so in batches as development moves forward. For now I'm promoting Interstellar Marines and the community model to my fellow gamers who feel they've been snuffed by publishers far to many times. And good luck with the investors.

One way of getting more funds from the community could potentially be to implement a gift-feature while you're doing changes to the site if it’s not to complicated. I have a few friends who are not so well off as myself yet would like to be part of this community and help realize this game. It would be neat if I could gift their account upgrades. Aside from generating some small but extra income and better numbers for you to show investors it would also help ensure these people remain excited about the game, furthering the power of Word of Mouth.

Oh, I forgot to add you need to update the briefing room more often as it's still pretty bare atm. Tell you what, release some more concept art of the guns etc and I'll buy a few more support medals. ;)

I feel bad im not a spearhead but I don't really want to pay for more of the game, sorry. When the game comes out there is a 85 % chance I will get it though. As long as it comes out for xbox 360 and I can find it in stores.

Ah couldn't resist buying some new medals. I hope our rank/medal appear on your character's sleeve or profile in the actual game so we can identify the first spear heads and those that donated support medals. :)

New spearhead here. I've been thinking about loading up on support medals to support this new development model and will most likely do so in batches as development moves forward. For now I'm promoting Interstellar Marines and the community model to my fellow gamers who feel they've been snuffed by publishers far to many times. And good luck with the investors.
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New spearhead here. I've been thinking about loading up on support medals to support this new development model and will most likely do so in batches as development moves forward. For now I'm promoting Interstellar Marines and the community model to my fellow gamers who feel they've been snuffed by publishers far to many times. And good luck with the investors.
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Muz333 wrote:
"I hope our rank/medal appear on your character's sleeve or profile in the actual game so we can identify the first spear heads and those that donated support medals. :)"

Thanks a million for the support Muz333 (and all who have bought upgrades) I can guarantee you that we'll do everything we can to respect / tribute you guys/gals support as much as we can In-Game as well as In-Life. :)

Excellent article, good idea to focus on communication and website upgrades. More dev blogs will help too in keeping the community up to date and informed with your dev process. Also really like the idea of early access to alphas since that will encourage others to support and help make a great game!